Climb Kilimanjaro For Charity

Costas: Climbing In Memory Of His Son

I decided to try and climb Kilimanjaro in January 2016 in memory of my son Tom who had passed away in October 2009 at the age of 23 due to a slow moving brain tumour. It would have been Tom’s 30th birthday and I felt I had to do something special in his memory and at the same time raise funds for a charity. After looking at various alternatives on the Internet, I decided to fund raise for Nasio Trust and Astro Brain Tumour Fund.

The whole trip was an amazing experience and I am very glad I did it and very grateful I came back without any breakages or aching muscles other than sore big toes. There were hundreds of people trying to get to the top and although sometimes it was a bit scary, everybody encouraged each other. We went through the Lemosho route which is the long route with plenty of time for acclimatisation and I think most people made it to the top. The porters worked very hard all the time and they were fantastic in the way they all looked after us. The scenery was beautiful, starting with green vegetation and gradually becoming barren as we got further up the mountain. Being above clouds for several days and seeing the glaciers around the top peak of Kilimanjaro is something to remember for life.

It would have been Tom’s 30th birthday and I felt I had to do something special in his memory and at the same time raise funds for a charity.

After a day’s rest in Moshi we travelled back to Nairobi by minibus and the next day we flew to Kisumu which is an hour’s or so drive to the Nasio Trust projects. There a lady called Jane welcomed us and showed us round the guest house where we would be based for the three days.  We visited two schools Nasio Trust run for orphan young children. We took part during teaching lessons and had great fun playing with the children during break times. We also visited  the newly opened medical centre which serves not only the two schools but also the surrounding area providing medical care for the poor at very little or no cost.  We also visited the various agricultural and community projects Nasio Trust is involved in, including a fish farm, a facility for growing Spirinela, bee keeping etc.

It was all very impressive and I am glad I could see how serious Nasio Trust is about helping vulnerable people and especially children.